Mighty Oaks – Live Review – Montreux Jazz Festival 2022

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Live Review - Mighty Oaks - Montreux Jazz Festival 2022

It is true. RMR lost track of Mighty Oaks somewhat. The freshness of their first full-length album, Howl, got that band firmly on our radar – initially. That’s the sound and the refreshing energy that we fancy from a Folk and Folk Rock band. Unfortunately, the thrill levels were less pronounced once Dreamers came online. And we were only marginally more impressed by the 2020 piece All Things Go.

So, increased metal urges and the belief that Mighty Oaks firmly went down pop lane made us ignore their 2021 piece Mexico. And that wasn’t the best call … [...] Click to raid more!

Graveshadow – The Uncertain Hour (2022) – Review

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Graveshadow - The Uncertain Hour - Album Cover

I am stumped. Sometimes you’ll find a ton of talent in a band. But for some reason, their work somehow doesn’t shine the way it should. And still. As a reviewer, you want to leave a few comments at the door. Because you see the potential, and it’s almost painful how these outfits seem to destroy their very own creation with the stroke of a few watery guitar riffs and a sloppy production.

Tough love or lost time and energy that would have been spent better elsewhere? Hold on to something. This may be beyond your usual Six Flags rollercoaster … [...] Click to raid more!

Instigate – Unheeded Warnings of Decay (2022) – Review

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Instigate - Unheeded Warnings of Decay - Album Cover

Oh boy. Sometimes I’m glad that a band cheated, only delivered some 35 minutes of airtime, AND had the gall to call that a full-length album. This happens when the levels of metal intensity levels shoot straight through the roof. And we had attacks like that of bands with a serious speed problem in the past.

It’s for felt ages that the RMR crew tried to find more reasonably grinding Death Metal with an itch for outrageous tech and brutality. Instigate here pushed themselves to the forefront. But can they beat established Tech Death bands that made an appearance on … [...] Click to raid more!

Coagulating Mirth. No laughing Matter, by The Atrophic!

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RockmusicRaider Review - The Atrophic - Coagulating Mirth - Album Cover

It’s funny. The Atrophic is a new band. So new, they haven’t yet found a space in the mighty metal archives.1 And, for some reason, this band opines that – somehow – Technical Death Metal cannot be fun and is shunned by many – because it’s just noize hacked to death by metal-crazed technicians.2 Add melody and symphony to this shebang or ban all these clueless misfits to the 11th circle of hell.3

Yet, once the RMR crew let Coagulating Mirth roar out of its cage, we were all ears. And indeed, their debut EP turned … [...] Click to raid more!